Christianity

Psalms 86Bow Down Thine Ear, O LORD

Summary

Psalm 86, the only psalm in Book Three headed a prayer of David, is a personal plea woven largely from phrases found elsewhere in Scripture. The speaker, poor and needy, asks God to hear, preserve and teach him, confessing that no god is like the Lord and that all nations will come to worship him. He asks for an undivided heart and appeals to God as merciful and gracious, longsuffering and plenteous in mercy and truth, words drawn from Exodus 34:6.

Key verse

“For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.”

Psalms 86:5

Themes

Humble Petition
An Undivided Heart
God's Mercy
Worship of the Nations

Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy.

Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee.

Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.

Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.

Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications.

In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.

Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works.

All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.

For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.

Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.

I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.

For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.

O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them.

But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.

O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid.

Shew me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, LORD, hast holpen me, and comforted me.

Text: King James Version (1611/1769), public domain.

Across traditions

Christianity
Exodus 34: The LORD, Merciful and Gracious
Psalm 86:15 echoes the self-description God proclaims to Moses in Exodus 34:6, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, one of the most repeated confessions in the Hebrew Bible.
Christianity
Revelation 15: All Nations Shall Worship
The song of the redeemed in Revelation 15:4 echoes Psalm 86:9, declaring that all nations shall come and worship before God.

Questions about Psalms 86

What does 'unite my heart to fear thy name' mean?

In Psalm 86:11 the psalmist asks God to make his heart single and undivided, so that his loyalty is not split between God and other attachments. He pairs this with a request to be taught God's way.

Why is Psalm 86 called a prayer of David?

Its Hebrew heading reads a prayer of David, the only such heading in Book Three (Psalms 73 to 89), which is otherwise dominated by Asaph and the sons of Korah. Traditional readers accept Davidic authorship, while many scholars see the heading as marking a style or collection.